Golf Tips for Beginners - Starting Off The Right Way

Taking up the game of golf can bring you many rewards, help you with networking, and get you outside in the sun more often. If you plan to play golf this summer, you might need some golf tips for beginners to give you a good start. Not all golf instructors work well with beginners, but some specialize in this area. 

Signing up for clinics and lessons geared towards the beginner will give you a great start, but if you don't have time for either or you just want to teach yourself, you can start with these golf tips for beginners. 

1. Putting 

Starting on the green may seem a bit odd because you want to go out and start clobbering the ball to the end of the range. Many instructors don't teach golf from the green to the tee and this separates the best teachers for beginners from the worst. If you sign up for lessons and they want to take you directly to the full swing, get a refund, and find someone else. You may want to inquire as to what the first lesson will include before signing up. 

The putter stroke is the smallest form of the golf swing you can find. You will also use your putter nearly three times more than any other club in your bag. Considering PGA professionals average around 28 putts around and often break 70, you can imagine how much an amateur play will use their putter. 

2. Chipping 

Once you start to feel comfortable with the putter, move onto chipping. This will teach you proper impact and you can use some drills to help you chip the ball properly. You will also start to learn some of the fundamentals of the setup, which will apply to the full swing once you get to it. 

3. Pitching 

Shorter shots from about 40 yards and closer that don't require a full swing are often referred to as pitch shots. The next step, once you start to hit solid chip shots, is to work on pitching. With this type of sequence, your swing slowly builds from a very small portion of the full swing to a larger and larger portion. 

4. Use a Tee 

When first working on your full swing put the ball on a tee about a quarter inch off the ground. This will give you a clean target to hit and will help to instill confidence. Many players, even professionals, will see the ball up a bit when making major swing changes or working on something.

  

5. Start with Shorter Clubs 

Just like starting with putting, chipping, and pitching, you should start with the shorter clubs in your bag when working on the full swing. Your 9, 8, and 7 irons are a great place to start and eventually, you can work up to the longer clubs as you get better at hitting the golf ball. 

6. One Thing at a Time 

The first move away from the ball gives you a starting point. You want to work on one thing at a time because if you don't get this first move right, it won't matter what you do with the rest of your golf swing. The most important of the golf tips for beginners is to start with the first move and the best drill for this I call a toe up to toe up drill. 

7. Learn the Rules 

The final tip beginner golfers should concentrate on is learning the rules. You don't need to learn every rule, but knowing the basic rules of the game will help you keep up with other golfers and play the game properly. Golf is an honest game and you call penalties on yourself. If you don't know the rules, you may get accused of cheating.